Aches of Atrophy
by Treeborn Dreamer
Summary: Sakura and Sasuke face off, with the fate of the village at stake.


I was really tempted to write another Tale from Training, but this idea jumped into my head while I was mowing my lawn, and I decided to see where it took me. Hope you enjoy, and please check out my other stuff if you like it!

Aches of Atrophy

Treeborn Dreamer

The air was tense, a muscle not flexed from years of stillness. And as the tension was broken with a precise swiftness, the aches of atrophy wrought their havoc.

"Sasuke."

Cold, cobalt eyes met wet green, and the entire world froze outside of these two figures in the early mist.

"Sakura. It's been a while." His face was blank, infuriatingly so, and she knew better than to explode at him like Naruto would have. Oh, Naruto...

"Out of my way, Sakura." A harsh tone had always been a mainstay of his repertoire, but his harshness was now magnified by apathy, when it had once been tempered by his soul. He shifted to his other foot, right hand gripping the handle of the sword he carried behind his back, and she drew herself up as tall as she could.

"I'm not letting you do this, Sasuke." A smirk wound its way through his face, twisting it from the blank slate into a madman's visage.

"What makes you think that you can stop me, Sakura-chan." He finished tauntingly, and Sakura balled up her fists and gritted her teeth: oh how she had wanted to hear that honorific only a few short years ago, and now...

"I've killed Orochimaru and my brother. I've defeated your precious Naruto twice in battle, and he barely walked away the last time. And you, the weakest of our squad, hell, our entire rookie class, thinks you can stop me?" His eyes flashed into red, Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly as his smirk grew into a sick grin. "This time, I'm going to kill Naruto, level the village, and any kunoichi smart enough to submit to my genjutsu will re-establish the noble Uchiha bloodline!"

Was this really the boy that she had shared a team with? The same shinobi that had nearly given his life to protect her?

"Sasuke, not one kunoichi from this village will join you. Every one of us, from the Hokage to the academy, will try and take you down." He just laughed at her, and she drew a kunai from her side, holding it in front of her.

"You're a funny one, Sakura. I haven't laughed that hard in years!" He threw his head back and laughed some more, wiping a tear from his eye as he finished. "It was only a few years ago that you promised to do anything to get me to stay in the village!"

"Sasuke, those days are long gone, and I'm not going to let you take one more step towards my home!" Her gaze was fixed and determined, and his grin faded to a scowl.

"I'd like to see you try, Sakura." They stared each other down for what seemed like an eternity, neither side willing to budge an inch. Sakura scanned her former teammate, giving him a good look for the first time as the sun began to set behind her; he was tall and lean, and his pale, tightly-muscled chest shone from behind a loose, white shirt. He wore the same large purple rope around his waist that all henchmen of Orochimaru seemed to wear, dark pants, and sandals; all in all, the only place that he had changed was in his face.

Similarly, he took a hard look at her. She had grown since he had left the village, longer in the legs now, and her face... She had matured in the face, somehow. In other areas as well; his eyes coldly passed over her feminine assets, noticing little other than the kunai she had clenched in her fists.

Suddenly, the kunai was flying towards him, nearly in slow-motion, and he yawned as he grabbed the handle and caught it at the last possible second. However, with how preoccupied he was with the kunai, he nearly missed the second kunai, complete with paper bomb, flying lower and in the shadow of the first.

"Clever move, Sakura. But not too clever." He chided, jumping up and out of the way as the second kunai sailed beneath him and exploded a dozen or so meters behind him. "You're going to need to do better than that."

"I plan on it!" As Sasuke landed, the ground was torn open beneath his feet, and he stumbled as a great chasm opened underneath his feet, and he stumbled as Sakura almost flew towards him, fist swinging at his jaw.

Despite his Sharingan tracking her, with his being off-balance, the best he could do was he throw up an arm to block the blow and use the other to steady himself, and he clenched his jaw as he felt, and heard, a crack in his forearm as her chakra-infused fist connected.

"You've definitely gotten stronger, Sakura. Faster too." He grimaced, nostrils flaring as he jumped back. She kept her face straight as she stared him down. "But this ends now. Mangekyo Sharingan!" And suddenly, the world melted around Sakura, and she cursed to herself for being stupid enough to look into his eyes.

How many days have passed in here? Lashed to a cross, unimaginable horrors blend into another, one after another, until all that is comprehensible is pain. Yet she dared not let him win, despite hour after hour of stabbings, torture, and... She shuddered for a second, panting and chest heaving as she felt another sharp pain in her lower chest, and another Sasuke grinned as her blood ran down his sword.

She fell down to her hands and knees, coughing blood and tears streaming down her face, as Sasuke stood over her, tall and victorious.

"I didn't enjoy that, Sakura. To see you in that much pain, for so long..." he trailed off and kicked her in the ribs. She cried out and collapsed, and he smirked. "It was torturous to me. But, after such a long minute in your mind, I think you deserve a short reprieve from your suffering." He knelt down, drawing his sword and aligning its edge against her throat as he whispered into her ear.

"I'm going to fulfill your childhood dream, Sakura. I'm going to make you bear my children." Her eyes widened as he laughed, softly, his Sharingan fixated on her and his sword at her throat. He stood up, laughing, pulling his shirt down and keeping his Sharingan on her as she stared up, horrified and beaten.

"Sasuke..." She managed to whisper hoarsely. He untied his rope belt and let it fall to the ground.

"Yes Sakura?"

"You're just as dumb as Naruto is." Sasuke drew himself up in anger, and aimed another kick at her ribs, when his body no longer responded to his commands; he stood, right leg drawn in the air, as he heard voices from all around him.

"Nara Ichizoku: Tajuu Kagemane!" He turned his eyes to the ground, helpless, and counted no less than nine shadows connected to his, and he felt his body stand up straight and stock still as black-haired shinobi crawled out of the surrounding forest, all smirking and laughing. One, shorter than the rest and noticeably less scarred, stepped forward and helped Sakura to her feet, throwing her arm over his shoulder and smirking.

"Thanks, Sakura. Sorry we took so long getting here with backup, but Ninishi-obaa-san held us up. What a drag, am I right?" Across the clearing, a black-haired kunoichi laughed and cracked her knuckles. "Anyway, Naruto gave me the seal to lock this bastard up, so let me take care of that for a second. Can you walk?" Sakura nodded weakly, chest heaving and gritting her teeth.

"I'm sealing him away, Shikamaru. He's my teammate." Shikamaru nodded and pulled a tag out of his pocket.

Sasuke focused all his chakra into his eyes and stared at Shikamaru's heart, hoping he could engage the doujutsu without verbal command. Instead, he only felt his strength draining and his skin crawling; thousands of bugs had swarmed him, landing up and down his arms, legs, and torso, draining him of his chakra faster than he could summon it.

"Oh good, Shino's here too." Shikamaru noted as the bug-user stepped out from behind Ninishi Nara, followed closely by what seemed to be a taller, bigger version of him.

"Forgive our tardiness." Shino stated simply, as bugs full of chakra began to fly back to him and his father, leaving Sasuke drained and helpless as the girl he once thought worthless staggered forward towards him, a large sealing tag in her hand.

As she took her last step, she stopped, looking him in his depowered eyes.

"Welcome back, Sasuke-kun." She mocked as she slammed the tag onto his chest and formed a Saru handsign.

"Fuuinjutsu: Shibo Konsui!" Alien chakra coursed through his veins, and Sasuke screamed as his mind went blank and his body crumpled to the floor.


End file.
